The 4 of Swords is like a love letter to the worn and weary, the broken-down and the survivors.
It reassures you that the world will keep spinning even if you take a time out. The Wheel of Life will just keep on turning, so the 4 of Swords encourages you to let the craziness go on without you for a bit while you take the time to do what you need to do to restore your equilibrium – Justice. All that will still be waiting for you when you return from your rest.
Respite in the painful suit of Swords
I love this quote by Isobel Radow Kliegman, which gave me one of those ‘penny drop’ moments when I was first trying to get my head around the concepts of Kabbalah and the relationship between Tarot and the Tree of Life.
“It [4 of Swords] is a card of removing ourselves from the world so that we can quiet ourselves and deal with our pain. In the painful suit of swords, we would expect to find this respite only in Chesed.“
~ Isobel Radow Kliegman, Tarot and the Tree of Life
Chesed, the 4th Sephira on the Tree of Life, is where the Tarot fours reside and the place on the Tree that relates to abundance and flow. And its planetary correspondence is, of course, Jupiter. In the otherwise angst-ridden storyboard of the Suit of Swords, the 4 represents a safe space (physical or internal) where you can retreat.
As with previous Decans, I have found it useful to look at some keywords to see what ideas they may spark about the current Decan of Libra III
Jupiter ~ attributes
Expansion
Growth
Good fortune
Luck
Abundance
Optimism
Generosity
Excess
Overwhelm
Overshadowing
Addiction
Over-optimism
Rules Sagittarius
Libra ~ attributes
Ruled by Venus
Seeker of balance
Justice
Harmony
Equilibrium
Homeostasis
Kind
Calm
Forgiving
Peace-loving
Sociable
Charming
Artistic
Articulate
Diplomatic
Indecisive
Avoidant
People pleasing
Self-sacrificing
Co-dependent
Cardinal Air sign
Self-protection & care
The 4 of Swords will often relate to mental health and issues of self-care. Areas of focus that are more relevant now than ever.
Remembering a challenging period of my life, I recognize now that my self-care back then was poor to non-existent. There were missed medical and dentist appointments and unhealthy eating, drinking and sleeping habits. I did not care well for myself. I didn’t allow myself any space to think too deeply about it all (such avoidance made all the easier by the bad habits themselves) for fear of what I might uncover and what uncomfortable steps I would have to take to remove myself to recover and repair.
Ironically, it was during this time, that the still, small voice within started to speak up. It would nudge me awake at night, breaking my rest to ask me what I was doing with my life. And the answers would come clearly, quietly, insistently until I eventually acted upon them. It was like coming out of a fog.
So, for me, this card is a reminder to make space for and tune into that voice.
Prompts for 4 of Swords ~ Jupiter in Libra
When the world gets too much…
Ask yourself:
Are you overdoing it at work or in your personal life?
Do you feel drained or like you are headed for overwhelm?
Are you neglecting your own well-being?
Are you prioritising the needs of others over your own?
Can you pause, and make space and time for yourself to rest and recover?
Observations and synchronicities ~ Libra III
I’m making space here to return to over the coming days of Libra III to add any thoughts, ideas and synchronicities as they arise…
The 4 of Swords is one of my favourite cards in the deck. It reminds me of my cat and the many hours in a day she spends sleeping. It is known that cats sleep such long hours not just to conserve energy for survival activities like hunting but also to give their bodies time to rest and repair. Cats instinctively turn to sleep to self-heal – an essential process as they tend to lead active, sometimes injury-prone lives. Rest is essential for their well-being, and so it is for us.
But do we always attend to our bodies with the same unapologetic self-love that a cat has?
Just as cats turn to rest to self-heal, the 4 of Swords reminds us that periods of withdrawal and quiet reflection are crucial for restoring balance and preparing for future action and challenges.
Kitty Tarot Paws & Light Seer’s 4 of SwordsSSVT 4 of Swords inspired by Kitty Tarot Paws
And, if you care to join me for this continuing solar return, you’ll find me on Facebook and Instagram hanging out on the corner of #decanwalk2024 and #decanastrology And I will be following @astroco_op and @tsusanchang
This is our 3rd encounter with Saturn, the great teacher and taskmaster, as we make our way through the Decans. This time in the element of Air and the suit of Swords. And it carries some karmic weight.
In the 3 of Swords, Saturn, God of Time, brings some tough but necessary lessons to be learned that may cause anguish and anxiety in the mental realm. This is the card of separation, loss and sorrow.
These bloody lessons likely have their roots in the past – perhaps highlighting patterns that keep repeating until they are recognised and broken. Lessons that will keep popping up until they are learned, absorbed and integrated – before we can move on and ‘grow’ – The World.
It brings to mind phrases like ‘no pain, no gain ‘ and ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’.The kind of phrases that get trotted out in times of strife that make you want to tell well-meaning people to just f*ck off!
There is often a sense of unfairness in painful times, which is reflected in the 3 of Swords. Injustice, as we know, does not sit well with Libra, who will always seek balance and harmony even if they have to bend themselves out of shape to achieve it.
But, in the 3 of Swords, there is no easy route to the restoration of peace and Justice. Only the hard and sometimes painful road, paved with harsh reality, limitations and delays.
As with previous Decans, I have found it useful to look at some keywords to see what ideas they may spark about the current Decan of Libra II
Saturn ~ attributes
Taskmaster
Teacher
Authority
Disciplinarian
God of Time (Cronus)
Periodic dissolution & regeneration
Challenges/life lessons
Growth & self-mastery
Dedication
Destiny
Limitations/boundaries
Responsibility
Structure & order
Patience, planning & pacing
Constriction
Ruler of ambitious Capricorn
Element of Earth
Libra ~ attributes
Ruled by Venus
Seeker of balance
Justice
Harmony
Equilibrium
Homeostasis
Kind
Calm
Forgiving
Peace-loving
Sociable
Charming
Artistic
Articulate
Diplomatic
Indecisive
Avoidant
People pleasing
Self-sacrificing
Co-dependent
Cardinal Air sign
When hearts break
I want to be very careful when writing about the 3 of Swords, not to trivialise it and the pain that it may reflect in a person’s life. We do not all experience the same hardship in this life. We do not all have the same resources or support to deal with the challenges that may come.
The 3 of Swords was a scary card for me as a teenager (with no experience of real loss or pain) because honestly what could be worse than impending heartache? Now, older and wiser and many heartbreaks down the road, I understand that wounds heal and that scars can be beautiful. Healing does indeed make you stronger.
Experiencing loss, pain and separation is unavoidable in this life, but what we learn is how to carry on and how to hold others when their hearts are breaking.
This understanding and empathy is what makes us human and whole.
Prompts for 3 of Swords ~ Saturn in Libra
In times of disconnection, mental anguish, separation and loss…
Ask yourself:
Where is your pain?
What events and past wounds do you need to heal from?
What can you do to promote that healing process?
Who around you is in pain? How is that manifesting and what can you do to assist their healing?
Looking back, what painful learning experiences of the past can you be grateful for?
How have they made/changed/transformed you?
Observations and synchronicities ~ Libra II
I’m making space here to return to over the coming days of Libra II to add any thoughts, ideas and synchronicities as they arise…
This is my Decan!
My birthday falls within the 2nd Decan of Libra. And I am writing this on the eve of Libra II, the night of the new moon and annular eclipse in Libra. I can’t claim to know what all of that means. But it’s big news in the Libraverse, so I’d better get this post out on time.
And, if you care to join me for this continuing solar return, you’ll find me on Facebook and Instagram hanging out on the corner of #decanwalk2024 and #decanastrology And I will be following @astroco_op and @tsusanchang
The autumn equinox brings us to the 2 of Swords in Libra I.
This is a time for reflection before we transition from summer into autumn and longer nights in the Northern Hemisphere. A moment of balance between light and dark, equilibrium of opposites.
The 2 of Swords also suggests a moment of pause, balance and weighing of options. It is often interpreted as a decision or a crossroads. And that so often seems to play out in readings, but my thinking is slightly shifting towards the idea this it is about more than just the choice itself – between one path or another path – but also about the way in which we approach the choice.
In this card we see someone holding space, holding the peace. Taking their time weighing the intuitive response with the rational response – internal wisdom, as represented by the High Priestess, vs external wisdom/systems that we see in the Justice card.
Here we might see someone balancing right and wrong. A moral dilemma. Perhaps questioning the righteousness and authority of the very systems that society has put in place to ensure ‘justice’. Could it be more Libra?
When you put these cards together visually, it seems so obvious that this person is holding the balance between their inner wisdom and outer wisdom (however righteous that may be)… following intuition or accepted wisdom.
As with previous Decans, I have found it useful to look at some keywords to see what ideas they may spark about the current Decan of Libra I
Monthly cycles of initiation, growth, culmination, release and rest
Ruler of Cancer
Libra ~ attributes
Ruled by Venus
Seeker of balance
Justice
Harmony
Equilibrium
Homeostasis
Kind
Calm
Forgiving
Peace-loving
Sociable
Charming
Artistic
Articulate
Diplomatic
Indecisive
Avoidant
People pleasing
Self-sacrificing
Co-dependent
Cardinal Air sign
Holding space for others
That’s a phrase, isn’t it? We hear it a lot and I’ve recently come to a deeper understanding of what it might actually mean. I guess I’ve understood it on an intellectual level (it’s what a good therapist, reader or enlightened, loving friend does, right?), but, in terms of holding space myself, I’ve gained a greater personal sense of it quite recently.
And because it’s personal, I won’t go into it all here.
The 2 of Swords, will now hold this meaning for me. The idea of holding space – allowing someone to speak and be heard, without judgement or the quick offer of advice – impartial (relatively). Having the wisdom, intelligence and the heart to simply listen. Holding back on making a personal judgement and allowing another to go through that process in your presence, with you as their witness. And making that space safe for them to move through their thoughts and feelings – go from one end of ‘the thing’ to the other and back again – as they try to discern the way forward for themselves. All of that.
Eventually, of course, in a personal situation (rather than a therapeutic one) you may eventually be called on for your opinion and advice. You may be asked to take sides. But this is about being able to hold off on that for a while.
Holding space for yourself
And so it follows that the 2 of Swords is the card of holding space for yourself. Opening up to the emotions and thoughts that may come, giving them some space and allowing them to just be for a while… without judgment.
The 2 of Swords is about allowing for all of this before you have to make up your mind, speak your mind or take action.
Prompts for 2 of Swords ~ The Moon in Libra
When you consider a dilemma or the path or paths ahead…
Ask yourself:
What decision might you be facing right now?
How are you approaching that decision?
How do you weigh your intuitive wisdom with the accepted wisdom and systems of your world?
How do you keep the peace? Should you keep the peace?
Is there a choice you must make even though it may disturb the peace?
Who or what are you holding space for?
Are you able to do this for yourself too?
What truths about yourself and your situation do you need to face with open eyes?
Observations and synchronicities ~ Libra I
I’m making space here to return to over the coming days of Libra I to add any thoughts, ideas and synchronicities as they arise…
Ok, so I’m feeling the whole Libra I-2 of Swords thing very strongly in my life right now. And the fact that this #DecanWalk2024 is calling on me to consider all of this at the very moment in my life when I need the wisdom that this card brings? Well…
And, if you care to join me for this continuing solar return, you’ll find me on Facebook and Instagram hanging out on the corner of #decanwalk2024 and #decanastrology And I will be following @astroco_op and @tsusanchang
